NEWS

A final Open House meeting was held on September 8th at at Belmont House,

Councillor Wong-Tam is moving forward the multi-million dollar revitalization of Ramsden Park.This is happening after consideration of- multiple stakeholder discussions- three rounds of public consultation- dog off-leash area working meetings- two site walks

Using feedback received at the public meetings, PMA Landscape Architects are fine-tuning design concepts and details for neighbourhood approval. They anticipate construction taking place in two phases. Phase one will commence in 2015 and will focus on the upper plateau of the park including the the playground and tennis court area. Phase two will commence in 2016 andn will focus on the rest of the park.

CNU advocates for replacing urban freeways with surface streets, boulevards and avenues as the most cost-effective, sustainable option for cities grappling with aging grade separated roads. This has the added benefit of providing significant opportunities to heal local street networks and improve regional traffic dispersion. As federal and state DOTs confront shrinking budgets, and cities look for ways to increase their tax base and revenues, community and political support is building for connected street grids and improved transit options that are less expensive to maintain and offer better alternatives to the rebuilding of urban freeways.

The 2014 Freeways Without Futures Report lists the top opportunities in North America for replacing aging urban highways with boulevards or avenues that connect to the networks of streets. They are presented in no particular order of rank. As in previous reports, the criteria for the 2014 list is based on a number of factors: the age and design of structures, redevelopment potential, potential cost savings, ability to improve both overall mobility and local access, existence of pending infrastructure decisions, and community support.

A longer list of potential freeway to boulevard transformations is also tracked in CNU’s Freeways Without a Future database. If you know a freeway that warrants consideration as an urban revitalization opportunity – please contact Alex McKeag, CNU Program Manager, at amckeag@cnu.org.